Episode 149: TRPG Survey Results Part 1

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

The results are in for the tabletop role-playing industry survey that was distributed late last year and what a shock! Actually, the results weren’t that shocking, so we dedicate the first episode discussing them to the results that didn’t surprise us. Well, except for Wayne, who decides to get into one of the biggest surprises for him. (Big surprise.) In addition to this, we discuss some of the books and articles (see the tags) about the tabletop role-playing industry that helped determine what questions were asked on the survey.

Watch this space because we will be linking all of the questions and results to the survey here.

Episode 148: Creature Feature: Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“Riding through this world all alone
God blah blah soul, you’re on your own
The crow flies straight, a perfect line
Blah the devil’s blah blah blah die
blah blah blah blah eye(?).”
-Sons of Anarchy theme

In our latest installment of Creature Feature, we look at outlaw motorcycle clubs or “biker gangs” for those not in the know. After listening, you’ll see why “Biker Gangs” was our original title for the episode.

Episode 147: Campaign Confessions: Pathfinder Part 2

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“Crafting a mystery can be tricky. Too easy and your players get bored. Too hard and your players get frustrated and, yes, bored. When in doubt, err on the side of hard and turn a blind eye when the paladin starts torturing NPCs for clues.”
– Michael West(en), burned Rogue/Illusionist

In part 2, we discuss Chris’s story, “Best Served Cold”.

Episode 146: Campaign Confessions: Pathfinder Part 1

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“Fighting a dragon is always a challenge. They are the kind of problem that calls for an A-10 Thunderbolt II and lots of rockets. Unfortunately, these things won’t be invented for another thousand years or so. In a pinch, you can get by with some household cleansers, rope, and magic, the duct tape of the fantasy world.”
-Michael West(en), Burned Rogue/Illusionist

In Part 1 of our latest Campaign Confessions, we give our thoughts on the Pathfinder system.

Episode 145: Crap Movies, Great Games

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

We’ve all been there. Your evening starts with such promise. Then, ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes into a movie, you realize that the movie is going to suck – hard. A crap movie hurts in so many ways: sadness, loss of time and money, boredom.
Idle Red Hands can help. Idle Red Hands is a prescription podcast that treats many symptoms of crap movies by showing you how elements of them can be turned into great games. Don’t let crap movies crap on you.

*Tell your doctor right away if your boredom worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior (besides better games), you have thoughts of suicide, or you find Wayne’s jokes funny. Side effects may include backache, earache, and nausea. If you have an allergic reaction, such as hives, rash, or swelling of the lips, stop listening and consult your doctor.

Episode 144: Playing Han Solo

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

Chris: “Lyal, Can I play Batman in your DC game. Batman with a Scottish accent. ‘Ach. Ay’m the heerooo this city deserves, ya wee lass.'”
Lyal: “Wow. I’m not looking forward to that, but sure. Wayne?”
Wayne: “Hmm, maybe Sen … Sensible … Sensual … Sen … tence. Centennial. The Centennial.”
Lyal: “The Sentry. Wrong universe. How about Superman?”
Wayne: “No thanks. I do like Spee … Speeder … Speederma … Spice. Spicer … Spicerman …”
Lyal: “Spider-Man. Wrong universe, again.”

In this episode, we discuss the advantages of playing iconic characters as well as retelling classic or not so classic stories. Also, listen to find out what all the fuss about Sparks Nevada is.

Episode 143: Deadly Games

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

Let the Games begin! In this episode, we discuss how to run a game in a game. Sorry. I mean how to run a game in an RPG. Originally inspired by The Hunger Games, we decided to expand the idea so that this wasn’t just an hour of grown men gushing about a book written for teenage girls (Team Peeta!). Therefore, we included such “all man” sources as The Running Man.

Episode 142: Magic: Blood Magic

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“Do you believe in magic in an enemy’s heart?
How the blood can free you, whenever it starts,
And it’s magic, if the blood is flowing.
It makes you feel fertile like a crop you’re sowing.
I’ll tell you about the magic, and it’ll free your soul,
But too many blood rituals can take their toll.

If you believe in magic, come along with me.
We’ll dance until morning ’til there’s just you and me.
And maybe, if the blood is right,
I’ll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night.
And we’ll go dancing, baby, then you’ll see
How the magic’s in the blood and the blood’s in me.”
-The Bloody Spoonful

Episode 141: Review: Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle Part 2

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

In our first Vampire: The Requiem game, one player found that his character didn’t feel like a vampire, which apparently meant being able to beat up random gangsters and using the promise of alcohol to “seduce” high school girls. (We were kind of creeped out by the second one as well in our pre-Twilight innocence.) The disappointment drove him to Savage Worlds.

Do we think that the rules in Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle will help to avoid such a tragedy in the future? Listen to find out.

Episode 140: Review: Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle Part 1

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

Before True Blood, Twilight, Underworld and Vampire Diaries (but a little after Dracula), there was Vampire: The Masquerade. It was a time when email was exotic and we didn’t really have a name yet for those kids that wished for more mall-friendly goth music. Years later, we got Vampire: The Requiem, a game that was lighter on mythology and tighter on rules. Now, in the post-Twilight era, Onyx Path Publishing, who Lyal insists on calling “Onyx Publishing”, gives us Blood and Smoke: The Strix Chronicle.

In Part 1, we focus on the setting. What clans are in it? Who are the Strix? Can you play Edward? All these questions and more will be answered.